Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Making your wood look good: How to take care of your wooden furniture

Wooden furniture is the most commonly found accessory around your home and whether it is the antique furniture in your living room or that gorgeous dining table that you feast on, all of them require care.

While most people believe that dusting them once in a while helps keep them in shape that could not be more far off from the truth. Wood is vulnerable to temperature changes, light and moisture. This makes it all the more important that the extensive wooden furniture around your home is pampered adequately from time to time.

Here are a few tips to help keep that gloss and shine on your wooden furniture last much longer than usual. Here’s how to take care of furniture, the right way.

Do not use cheap household cleaners and solution with ammonia

While money does not guarantee quality, it is also true that most cheap furniture cleansing agents in the market cause more damage to your wooden furniture than good. Make sure that whatever you use to clean the surface is not too strong, does not have ammonia and will not cause long term damage to the surface. Most often a wet cloth followed by a dry one will do. Depending on the surface you can use very small amount of mild detergent.

Know about the wood and the finishing before you clean it

Wood is varied in its configuration and wooden furniture comes in a multitude of styles, composition and finishing. It is important to know what you are dealing with and what the surface is that you need to take care of before actually looking for methods to do so. In this regard, the best person to talk to would be the guy who sold you the item and if you are buying wooden furniture from a designer firm, then the catalogue that comes along will give enough information in this regard. Furnishings with old finishing need plenty of care while some of the more modern finishes like pre-catalyzed and post-catalyzed lacquers offer plenty of protection.

Keep your wooden furniture away from Sunlight

Just remember that as a general rule, direct sunlight is not that good for any type of furniture, paintings or photographs. It is always advisable to keep stuff away from sunlight and in conditions that are stable. Use a window treatment if needed, but make sure that the sun stays away as the UV rays can cause very quick and direct damage to wooden surfaces.

Taking care of temperature and humidity

Good coasters are a must when it comes to using wooden furniture for a long time and it is as simple as that. Glasses and containers that are too hot or too cold, discolors the surface and any moisture that is left behind will eat away into the surface. Temperature and moisture are essential for managing wooden furnishings and unless they are kept at a constant value, it is hard to expect the furniture to look good and last long. Wood expands absorbing moisture and over a period of time excess humidity will lead to cracks.

Get them polished once every year or two by a professional

Polishing is a specialized job that requires plenty of care. While you might fancy your hand at it, leave the majority of the work to a professional and ensure that he redoes your furniture once each year. This might appear as a costly venture, but the number of years it extends the life of your furniture will ultimately make it a profitable option. Just like you need a proper vacation once in a while, so does your furniture!

Use simple and smart ideas to prevent long-term damage

Care for the parts of the furniture that is not visible as well, as this is generally neglected leading to the start of damage that will eventually spread. Also use smart home remedies to cover up minor defects that appear once in awhile. One part of lemon oil along with three parts of olive oil is generally considered a good polishing agent. Similarly you can find many such effective and simple methods to keep the shine on the furnishings bright.

Taking care of wooden furniture is not really that hard if you just keep it simple and regular. Wooden furniture has a certain classic appeal to it that makes it timeless. That is exactly why it is still preferred to all the metallic alloys that are coming up and require far less maintenance. There is a certain old-age charm in wood and caring for it makes sure that the charm lasts longer!